'Charlie Watts Quits Rolling Stones' Rumor Denied

Earlier today, Undercover announced that Charlie Watts had quit the Rolling Stones, and would be replaced by Charlie Drayton, who plays with Keith Richards' other band, the X-Pensive Winos. A spokeswoman for the Stones has denied that Charlie Watts is leaving, though Undercover has not pulled or changed its story.

While not part of the songwriting team (since his driver's license reads neither Richards nor Jagger- actually, he has no driver's license at all), Charlie Watts is an integral member of the Stones, and has been with the band for 46 years. Charlie Watts is an accomplished jazz drummer who gigs all over London pretty much constantly, and the Stones is only one of the bands he's in. Seeing the name "Charlie Watts live" in a music listing was not at all rare when I lived in London, and Charlie Watts has often spoken of how he prefers jazz to rock.

However, today is the 45th anniversary of the Stones' recording of Little Red Rooster.